In a big van, nine athletes from the boys varsity cross country team made the eight hour drive all the way up to Fresno the weekend of Nov. 29th. While the cross country season has come to an end for most runners, a lucky few ended their season in competition at the state meet. Individually North-Cole qualified representing girls cross country in Fresno along with the boys varsity cross country team.

Despite how easy the cross country team makes it appear, over the past couple of months the athletes have been dedicating numerous hours, training hard, and constantly running with the prospect of having a successful season.

“We did a lot of summer training. Most of the guys started training in June,” Senior varsity member Nathan Williams said. “By the time practices started we were all running 60-65 miles a week and continued doing workouts throughout the season.”

In order to qualify for the State Championship meet athletes must meet one of the following criteria: as a team be one of the top two teams in your division, which for Carlsbad meant beating over 15 other teams, or run the standard time as an individual. The cross country state meet consists of ten races, 5,000 meters each, broken up by division. Held in Fresno, California only the top athletes in the state have a chance to compete on this course.

“We were second in our league, second in our division one San Diego Section, and thirteenth in California division one” Williams said.

Running in the division 1 race, the CHS cross country team represented Carlsbad High to the best of their ability. Overall the boys team came home with 13th place, Nathan Williams individually earned 8th place, and Natalie North-Cole finished individually with an all time personal record of 18:58.

Most of the pictures from the state meet of the boys team consist of their purple cross country uniforms, running shoes, and mohawks. While the boys take their race seriously they look for opportunities to make the experience enjoyable and light-hearted.

“The people are the best part. We do the mohawks just to show some team spirit as well as unity and it has been going on for at least three years now and it’s fun,” Williams said. “Plus we all have matching sunglasses now that we got at a meet.”

Even though the season is over for the team, Nathan Williams, competing at the State meet for the second time and finishing with a time of 15: 26 in 8th place overall, is looking to run at the Footlocker West Regionals Saturday the 6th at Mt. San Antonio College. Make sure to congratulate the lucky few athletes who had the chance to finish off their season with personal best times and the self-accomplishment of competing at such a sought after meet.